His Double Standards, My Final Goodbye Chapter 05

His Double Standards, My Final Goodbye Chapter 05

At nine the next morning, the joint project was suspended from bidding.

Chloe’s lead-presenter status was suspended too.

I was pouring Mom a glass of water in the hospital when the news broke.

Dominic called immediately.

“You withdrew the authorization?”

“Yes.”

“Put it back. Now.”

His voice stayed controlled, but his words came faster than usual.

“Final review is in two days. Do you have any idea how much the Vance family stands to lose if you pull out now?”

I tightened the lid on the insulated bottle in my hands.

“Didn’t Mr. Vance say there was no need to split hairs over ownership on a joint project? If Chloe is the lead designer now, she can put together a new proposal herself.”

“Astrid, I don’t have time for you to do this out of spite.”

“I’m not punishing you.”

“Then what was that report supposed to mean?”

So the Association had already contacted him.

I walked to the end of the corridor.

“It means exactly what it says. I want the plagiarism case from three years ago reopened.”

“Too much time has passed. Reopening it won’t help anyone.”

“You mean it won’t help Chloe De Santis.”

Dominic was silent for several seconds.

“Chloe had just started her career. She didn’t know the design came from you. Someone on her

team gave it to her.”

“Then why did she try to stop my complaint?”

“She was afraid she’d lose her job.”

“So I was supposed to lose my award instead?”

“I’ll compensate you.”

Compensation. Again.

My name, my work, and three years of my life with him all seemed to come with a price tag in

Dominic’s world.

“Dominic Vance, do you really have no idea what happened to my encrypted hard drive?”

I heard a chair scrape across the floor on the other end of the line.

“Where are you? We need to talk in person.”

“I only want an answer.”

“It wasn’t me.”

“Then who was it?”

He said nothing.

I gave a quiet laugh.

“So you do know.”

“Astrid, this isn’t what you think. The Vance family was in the middle of a financing round and trying to take the family business legit. If Chloe had been formally found guilty of plagiarism, both families’ interests and the entire team would’ve taken the hit. I was trying to contain the damage.”

“So you came after me, made me fall in love with you, then convinced me to withdraw the

complaint.”

“At first, yes.”

He finally admitted it.

“But I never forced you to be with me. The three years after that weren’t fake.”

I stared through the glass in the door to Mom’s hospital room.

She had just woken up and was trying to smile at me.

For three years, every time Dominic came to our house, she started preparing dinner a day in

advance.

She always said he seemed cold, but had a good heart underneath it.

Now those words felt like the cruelest joke of all.

“Dominic, why didn’t you come last night?”

“Cannoli was missing. Chloe was falling apart.

“My mom was in surgery. That didn’t matter?”

“You’re stronger than she is.”

He said it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Astrid, you know how to handle things. You don’t need me beside you every second. Chloe is different. She can’t cope on her own.”

I closed my eyes.

So being the one who could handle everything meant I never got to be the one he chose.

“I’m not restoring the project’s authorization, and I’m not withdrawing the complaint.”

“My attorney will contact you.”

“When did you get an attorney?”

“Last night.”

‘

For the first time, he seemed to realize I wasn’t testing him.

“Astrid, I’ve already added your access to the penthouse. I made the last four digits of the code your birthday.”

“Delete it. I don’t need it anymore.”

His breath caught on the other end.

I continued, “I already sent a courier to pick up my things from your place. I left the key in the

entryway, even though it never opened your door anyway.”

Dominic lowered his voice.

“Are you breaking up with me?”

“I’m not going to.”

I looked through the glass at Mom.

“I already did.”

The elevator doors outside the hospital room slid open.

Dominic stood inside, phone in hand, dried mud from the previous night’s search still streaking his

shirt.

He looked up, saw me, and strode toward me.

At the same moment, Adrian Cruz, the attorney sitting beside me, stood and held out the agreement ending our partnership.

“Mr. Vance, you’ve been served.”